How to Change Your Life: One Thought at a Time

“If only things were different.” You think this to yourself as you feel the symptoms come on. It’s no surprise to you when they do, as they made their appearance yesterday, and the day before that. At this point it’s normal. But that doesn’t stop you from feeling the resentment and frustration build up in your chest. The sweaty palms bring you back to earth as you wipe your hands across your pant leg. The sound of your thoughts is accompanied by the inconsistently loud beat of your heart. You know it’s not a big deal. It’s just a presentation, not even five minutes long. So why does it feel like one? The reality is that there could be a number of reasons these symptoms are occurring. They could be from anxiety, since that’s what the internet tells you. But there has to be more to it. Because the presentation does matter, but at the same time, it shouldn’t equate to feeling like you're running from a grizzly bear. So at the root, it can be called anxiety, sure. But what really causes it? And more importantly, can it be solved?

The simple answer is our thoughts. If you are a living human being, who breathes in oxygen and releases carbon dioxide and has a steady heartbeat, you're going to have thoughts. It’s just inevitable. What is different about our thoughts is that they are more sneaky than we usually envision them to be. We often think that our thoughts are a part of us, and therefore we are aware of them. That is not necessarily true. We can have good and true thoughts that reflect upon the world we live in. Basically these thoughts are founded in the truth, which is not relative, like some believe. For example the world is round, the sky is blue because of the scattering of light, etc. However we can also have wrong and false thoughts. These can include lies that we feed ourselves, or negative judgements about other people. But since we are human, we inevitably will live with both. So what does this mean for the person above with the racing heart rate and sticky palms? It means that there must have been a build up of thoughts that gave way to the physical symptoms experienced. The tricky part is that most of the time we don’t actually notice if we are feeding ourselves lies. It’s even harder when they come across as half-truths, which feel like partial realities. It could look like someone thinking, “I’ll let so-and-so do this activity because it is more suited to their strengths versus mine, whereas I would surely mess this up for everyone.” The way in which we think is critical. It can lead to a build up of confidence and character, or lead to self-depreciation and negativity. So what does this mean for me and you? It means that the thoughts that one dwells on have a direct impact on the way one lives. Or in Marus Aurelius’ words, “The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” However, we are fully capable of changing those distorted and false thoughts or maintaining right and true ones, the evidence for which can be seen from both the Bible and modern-day science. In this essay I’m going to outline some ways in which science and the Bible says we can change and renew our minds.

And while this conclusion seems insufficient or unneeded, I can assure you - it’s really not. It’s an important subject to discuss, precisely because of how often it gets overlooked due to its “simplicity.” The fact is that our thoughts can impact our lives in very specific ways, not just generally. They impact our relationships. If someone begins to have demeaning or rude thoughts about their coworker, those thoughts could come out in a multitude of ways that could hurt that relationship. Maybe they begin to nitpick the little things that person does. Or maybe you come across as passive aggressive instead of helpful and kind. There are so many ways in which our negative thoughts can manifest into our relationships. Another way our thoughts directly impact our lives is how we view the world. What is the lens through which we see the world? In other words, what is our worldview? As Christians, we know our answer should be that it is made through the lens of the Bible and Scripture. But is it really? Is it made up of the truth we are given from God’s Word, or is it made up of self-reliance and independence? Do we view everything as a chance to show off and present the best versions of ourselves to those around us? Yet another way thoughts impact life is through our actions or behaviors. Theoretically if we believed everything was a chance to put on our best fronts, we would most likely act in that way. Simply because that is what we believe life to be. Thoughts are the framework, the structure, and support system for how we live our lives.

To do this, to change our thoughts, we have to learn to stop ignoring our minds and the thoughts that dwell there. I’m asking that we stop ignoring the unkind and untrue thoughts that cross our minds, and instead take a long look at them and recognize them for what they are. The only issue is that saying it and doing it are two completely different things. But coming to light with the thoughts our minds produce is something that will help us in the long run of life, not the sprint of this week. This all sounds great, but the real question is how do we actually do this? Habits are a huge part of changing our minds and our thoughts. Our habits form us, and they form our lives. If we can begin to install helpful habits for the mind and tear down the negative ones, significant change can happen. Our habits are also closely tied to discipline and how much we have. Do we have the strength and willpower to discipline ourselves enough to change our mental habits? Next, we have a choice when it comes to life. We have a choice on how to live, where to live, who to be in this life, etc. We have the choice to help our brains, heart, and soul by choosing better thoughts. Next, when trying to distinguish what thoughts are “good ones” and which ones are “bad,” we first need to know what is truth and what are lies. We think we know the truth, and maybe we really do. But it’s surprising how many times the truth gets tucked away into the crevices of the mind while one goes down a negative thinking spiral.

Lastly, confidence and hope are essential to this story, which might sound random, but assuredly is not. Sometimes a lack of confidence can lead to negative thoughts. So as Christians, we must make sure we remember who to place our true confidence in. It is a very human tendency to place our faith in ourselves only. It’s a common American belief that we are the only ones that we can fully trust, we are taught to pursue self-dependence instead of dependence on God. As crazy as it sounds, it takes a leap of faith to put our faith in God. Hope can be found when we place our confidence in the Lord. Hope itself is essential to life. Without it, bitterness or apathy are more likely to slip into our hearts and make its permanent home there. And so, this idea of our thoughts is extraordinarily crucial. The sixty thousand thoughts we have every twenty four hours make up our inner narrative (Loder). To flip back the page, we go to the person in the beginning with performance anxiety. That person knows that they are nervous and experiencing anxiety symptoms but maybe can’t find the root cause. But he or she most likely doesn't know what to do about them. The tricky thing is that we can never know what is happening in someone’s head or where they are in their faith. It would be wrong to assume that because they have nerves or maybe have anxiety that they aren’t putting their trust in God. That’s not how mental illnesses or faith work. However, when we don’t bring God into the equation we can’t remind ourselves of what he says to us in hard moments like this. With God in the equation, we can think thoughts like, “Because I put my confidence in God, I don’t have to fear whatever will happen during this presentation.” Isaiah 41:10 calls for children of Christ to, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” The hardest part is choosing to simply know the truth or to choose to act upon the truth. If the Lord says He will give us strength, help, and security from his hand, He will. As a precursor, I am not saying these ideas of confidence and hope can cure diagnosed mental illnesses, but I believe they can have the power to help. But with the Lord beside us, anything can happen. So we begin with the beginning: what are our habits and how can they change our thoughts, and therefore our lives?

What are habits? Scientist Jason Hreha in the book Atomic Habits writes that “habits are, simply, reliable solutions to recurring problems in our environment” (Clear 45). In the end, that is what they are. Habits are behaviors we develop out of ease, or from doing one thing or another multiple times over. In Atomic Habits, James Clear explains that the primary reason for why the brain remembers that past is to better know how to predict the future. William James, a scientist from the 19th century “describe[s] habit as a routine, behavior, or even cognitive process that starts spontaneously but is repeated automatically as a result of prior experience” (Mendelsohn). The tricky thing is that we are not always aware of when we are in the process of making habits. When someone remembers to lock their car directly after grabbing their water bottle, that can easily become a habit if it happens every time they get out of the car. Or when we actively choose to get to bed earlier, if we do it enough times, we can train our bodies to fall asleep earlier, fixing our sleep schedules. The very same goes for if we are constantly psyching ourselves out inside our heads, getting nervous for no logical reason. This too can become a habit that is all too easy to slip into time after time. So if we try to become aware of what we do poorly, only then we can begin to heal the wound it’s created. An example of this could be to genuinely identify our strengths as a person if we begin to feel a negative spiral. So sure enough, all that practice can turn into a habit too, but a better one than before.

It’s one thing to explain habits, but how can this be applicable to life? What are real and true ways we can use, form, make, and change our habits to bring more joy into life? James Clear writes, “All behavior is driven by the desire to solve a problem. Sometimes the problem is that you notice something good and you want to obtain it. Sometimes the problem is that you are experiencing pain and you want to relieve it. Either way, the purpose of every habit is to solve the problems you face” (Clear 51). James Clear writes about the four laws of behavioral change. The four laws of behavior change are cue, craving, response, and reward. The first step is to find a cue for when you are about to fall into a bad habit. Craving is to make the new habit something attractive or give it an added feature that makes you want to do it. Next is the response, where we make the actual ‘doing’ part easy in some way, which also adds to its attractiveness! The reward is to make a reward for choosing the right habit over the wrong ones we are addicted to. Alana Medelsohn writes an article called, “Creatures of Habit,” where she writes on the repetition of habits. “Habits are context dependent; they strengthen through repetition and associations....”(Medelsohn). She also writes on the studies that have shown habits to become increasingly easy to create if it is made out of repetition on a daily basis. “Although the degree to which habit drives human behavior is difficult to estimate...one study... found that nearly half of their actions were performed [via habits] almost daily” (Mendelsohn).

Alana Medelsohn also writes on how our stress can affect our ability to make habits. She writes that, “A potential confounder in the link between habitual behavior and psychopathology is that habitual behavior is also highly regulated by stress. Just as your nervousness before a major examination or job interview might lead you to rely more on your morning routine, acute and chronic stress has been shown to increase subjects’ reliance on habitual strategies in both animal and human studies” (Mendelsohn). With psychopathology being the study of mental illnesses and disorders, excess stress can increase our reliance on habits more than it needs to be. In fact, humans do most things throughout the day because of habits. The problem is once we rely on habits more than we should, bad habits can grow and become the norm.

The author of Get Out Of Your Head is Jennie Allen, a woman who struggled with her own personal battle over her mind. Anxiety and overthinking were big parts of her life and were what inspired her to write this book. In chapter five, she mentions how the act of thinking differently and setting her mind on Christ deals with discipline. “As I've been practicing the patterns we're about to walk through together, shifting my thoughts has become more disciplined” (Allen 43). When we go to the gym to grow our muscles, we undergo hypertrophy. This is the process of breaking down tissue in the muscle, so it can grow back stronger next time. We discipline the muscles to grow. When we read a book a month, we train our eyes and brain. If we do this often, or over a long period of time, growth will happen. Whether it's the speed at which one reads, or the ability to intake written information faster. We discipline our eyes and brain to grow. The same thing would happen if we were to take what Allen spoke about seriously. Discipline can go a long way if it is a constant battle. Just as we don’t grow our muscles very much, if at all, when we only go to the gym every now and then. Or if one only free reads when they feel like it. We can still grow. It just won’t be nearly as much growth in comparison to accepting the effort and struggle we’ll face in the long run to heal our minds.

However in order to heal our minds in the long run we should come to understand the next major part of the process. When the word ‘choice’ comes to mind, what do you think? Immediately I’m thinking of someone holding out two options and willing me to choose between them. Similarly, we have the choice to think in a different way. We can actively choose not to continue to spiral when the negative comments and criticism come our way. While this can sound basic, it’s the truth. We are fully capable of choosing to stay in our doom and gloom mood or make ourselves find our way out of it. Jennie Allen talks about the choices we have when it comes to our thoughts. “...Until I learned to think differently about my thoughts. Until I remembered that I had a choice” (Allen 25). Jennie Allen is right on track when she claims this. Another woman by the name of Gordanna Biernat expands on this idea. “The key is to see that there is a choice – that I have the power to choose my state of mind – and then to act on that knowledge in every single now moment” (Biernat ). The hardest part is coming to terms with the fact that we have to willfully choose to change for the better. Just saying we have the intention of healing our minds won’t do the trick. Effort and work is required.

So as an example, let’s say we find ourselves in the middle of a spiral. One way that we can get out of it is to recognize it. We need to realize when the thoughts we’re thinking aren’t actually true and just causing us to feel bad or hopeless. Paul writes in Romans about the astounding love God has for each and every one of us, which negates the need for self depreciation. Romans 5:8 says this, “But God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (English Standard Version). We are quite literally to die for! So the first way we can help ourselves snap out of bad thoughts is to remember these simple truths about Christ’s immeasurable love he holds for his creation. A secondary way to overcome this is to turn on some music. I know what you’re thinking. Music? Really? In all seriousness music can be either a big mood booster or suppressor. A really easy way to change how we are thinking is to get ourselves off of ourselves. Meaning, if we turn on our favorite Christian alternative band and begin to listen to the lyrics talking about God’s goodness and desire to call us towards Himself, we’ve stopped overthinking and just focused on understanding the lyrics. And just like that we’ve stopped a spiral from happening. All it takes is the right choice. Sometimes it’s hard to make the right one when we want to sit in the wrong one.

But you may be thinking, that's great, and music is awesome, but what else can I do to actually physically change and help my brain? Lucky for us, there is both Biblical and scientific evidence that proves we can. In 2nd Corinthians 5, Paul talks about how we are made new creations in Christ. Meaning if we are made new in Him, we have the opportunity to get a fresh start and begin again. No matter our history with our minds, we can always start again each day. There are so many other spots in the Bible where it talks about the importance of choice. Romans 12:2 commands us by saying, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (New International Version). Paul explains here that we as Christians should be transformed, or changed by renewing, or restarting our minds. Just by Paul saying this, it proves that it’s possible to change our minds along with our identities in Christ.

While there are about a few dozen other verses that have similar messages about the ability to choose how we live, and subsequently how we think, there is also scientific evidence that comes into play. Barbera Haggerty writes while interviewing neuroscientist Richard Davidson that,“‘You can sculpt your brain just as you'd sculpt your muscles if you went to the gym,’ he says. ‘Our brains are continuously being sculpted, whether you like it or not, wittingly or unwittingly.” ‘It’s called neuroplasticity’” (Hagerty). Davidson explains neuroplasticity in a simple fashion. In other words, Charles Stangor and Jennifer Walinga explain neuroplasticity like this in their textbook Introduction to Psychology.

“Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to change its structure and function in response to experience or damage. Neuroplasticity enables us to learn and remember new things and adjust to new experiences” (Stagnor and Walinga). Basically neuroplasticity itself is evidence that we can change our bad mental habits. It proves that we can physically alter and change our brains for the long run. It can be said that our brains are plastic, or malleable. What this means is that it will stay the way we make it. It won’t change and snap back like a rubber band. And so if our brains are malleable, we therefore have the opportunity to inflict real change upon our lives. The choice is ours.

Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, further explains the idea of neuroplasticity. He uses the words of neuroscientist Eric Kandal in his memoir, In Search of Memory. “‘We could see for the first time that the number of synapses in the brain is not fixed—it changes with learning! Moreover, long term memory persists for as long as the anatomical changes are maintained’” (Qtd. in Carr 164). So what does this mean for us? Our synapses, the places where neurons connect to each other to converse, can change. They are not definite, like our neurons are. So you might be thinking, how can a synapse adapt to change while neurons can’t? How does that help someone change their brain? The thing is, there are debates about whether or not neurons can be regenerated. As such it gained the term neurogenesis. Scientists don’t fully understand it, but for so long it’s been said that neurons do not grow back. That’s why things like excess drinking can kill off more neurons than it should.

However, neuroplasticity explores the way synapses help neurons recognize pathways, create new connections, etc. Nevertheless, Kandal’s findings mean that our synapses are not doomed to be stagnant. They can change with work and repetition. He quite literally says they can change with learning! This also means that our long term memories can grow stronger as long as we keep exercising those synapses. The neuroscientist explains that the continuous growth and maintenance of our synapses allows our memories to persist. (Carr 166). Eric Kandal goes on to explain how the neuroplasticity of our brains actually makes up who we are. He’s quoted in The Shallows, saying the following. “The process also says something important about how, thanks to the plasticity of our brains, our experiences continually shape our behavior and identity: ‘The fact that a gene must be switched on to form long-term memory shows clearly that genes are not simply determinants of behavior but are also responsive to environmental stimulation, such as learning’” (Carr 166). This means that the way our brains work shape who we are. If someone’s brain is continuously creating new neural pathways, aka new habits, it tells you something about the person. He goes on to reveal that there is a gene that gets switched on that allows us to have long term memory. The very fact that this happens unconsciously proves that our neurons are capable of responding “on their own” based on something else that has happened. How incredible is that?

Charles Stangor and Jennifer Walinga in their textbook, Introduction to Psychology continue on about neuroplasticity and what it means for our brains. Towards the middle of chapter 4, they explain one of the reasons for why our brains control everything from our behavior to our feelings through thoughts. They write,“The principles of neuroplasticity help us understand how our brains develop to reflect our experiences.” So what is this even saying? The writers continue on in the chapter by using an example on accomplished musicians. “For instance, accomplished musicians have a larger auditory cortex compared with the general population...and also require less neural activity to move their fingers over the keys than do novices...These observations reflect the changes in the brain that follow our experiences” (Stagnor and Walinga).

Studies from this chapter show that people who have studied, learned, and experienced music for years on end will reflect that in their brains. Stagnor and Walinga write that it actually showed they needed less neurons, or neuronal activity than the normal person to move their fingers on the keys. The studies also show that accomplished musicians also have a larger auditory cortex than those who don’t play music or aren’t as accomplished. This means that what we do changes our brains constantly. It makes one think about all the ‘normal’ things that are done in a day, and which of those are becoming habits or permanently changing our brains for better or worse. The simple way to state this is that everything we do, learn, experience, and understand is constantly changing our brains because they are moldable. This data from Charles Stagnor and Jeniffer Walinga reflect that of other sources as well. Once again the neuroscientist Richard Davidson makes an appearance. Barbera Haggerty continues to use his wisdom in her article, “Prayer May Reshape Your Brain...And Your Reality.” Towards the middle of her article she inserts his words that reflect the previous evidence found on neuroplasticity. “Neuroscientist Richard Davidson says you can change your brain with experience and training.” Davidson says this within the context of a study he was performing on those who spent one to two hours in meditation or prayer a day. His studies went on to show the subjects getting antibodies to a flu virus but mostly a renewed spark for life. The point being that Haggerty writes on exactly what other scientists have found over and over again. Our brains are more incredible than we think they are. Most importantly, these scientists and writers bring to light the fact that we can change our brains, habits, behaviors, and lives, even when it feels utterly hopeless.

So what’s next? Where do we go from here? We know that habits and discipline are the foundations of our thoughts and what we choose to do with those thoughts. We also know that choice is a part of the war in our minds. We have the choice to make better thought patterns, and actually break the cycle. This is so important, seeing as sometimes we don’t think it’s possible. This leaves us with our next point. In the world we live in, it’s really hard to decipher the truth. What even is true anymore, and how do we separate it from all the lies? As Christians, one of the greatest gifts given to us, aside from the salvation of Jesus Christ, is that we know the one and only truth. We know the truth, thanks to what forty authors have written over three continents, spaced 1,500 years apart. This is something that might not come to the forefront of our minds but is still truly a gift that not everyone has. If you glance around at the culture, you will see just how confused people are, and how Satan thrives on that confusion and fear that stems from it.

The fact of the matter is that we need to know the ultimate truth in order to have true thoughts. If we believe false realities, our thoughts, actions, and lives will reflect that. If someone claims to be a girl, but is biologically a boy, you can see the outward appearance change, wearing girl’s clothing, pretending to actually be a girl. Of course we can’t know what goes on in other people’s heads all the time. But it’s safe to assume that their thoughts reflect their warped and wrong view of the world, and of what really is true. In today’s society we are told to ‘live our truths’ and ‘you do you’ even if it's completely absurd.

This is why what we deem to be truthful, hopefully actually being the truth, is of utmost importance. The NIV version of John 14:6 says this, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.’” Jesus Christ doesn’t just have a book about him that is the ultimate truth, He is the truth. Isaiah 40:8 talks about how, “Everything withers away with time, the grass, the flowers, but the word of God will stand forever” (King James Version). This is the truth of the world, and this is what our foundations should be made of. This is what needs to be the soil of our minds, in order for us to grow truthful, good, and beautiful thoughts.

This brings us to a practical step in this journey to renewing our minds. If we want truthful thoughts, we simply fill our minds with the truth. Yes, we know the sky is blue because of the scattering of light off of the earth’s atmosphere, but we need to know more. We have to fill our minds with the living truth of God. In John, readers see the well analogy of living water, and the story behind it. Jesus meets the Samaritan woman and they talk about what Jesus will draw water with from the well. He then explains that he has the everlasting water of life, without mentioning that it’s him. We need the living water of Jesus watering the soil of our minds, seeping into our brains, and helping us grow more God-centered and truthful thoughts and mindsets. Are our wells full of the water of life? Or are they full of water the rest of the world drinks from? This is our practical step. It’s to begin to genuinely think about how full our wells are of the living water of Christ.

Similarly, there’s a term called confirmation bias which has to do with the truth and how we perceive the world around us and react to it. Author Raymond S. Nickerson writes on confirmation bias in his paper Confirmation Bias: A Ubiquitous Phenomenon in Many Guises, explaining that it is essentially “seeing what one is looking for” (Nickerson 7). However, what does this term actually mean? A web article from the University of Texas describes it as the following: “Confirmation bias is the tendency of people’s minds to seek out information that supports the views they already hold” (“Confirmation Bias”). In layman’s terms, this means looking for evidence that points to a belief already set in our minds, without even embracing the new evidence as just that. This is what humans tend to do. Once the human mind develops a predisposition, a lens in which we view the world with better known as a worldview, everything becomes tainted by it. Not necessarily in a bad way even, but this includes new information, evidence, etc. This is the inevitable human experience. This becomes a problem when someone deals with heavy depressive episodes and experiences negative spiraling. The American psychologist and writer Nickerson continues on confirmation bias. He writes, “When a person must draw a conclusion on the basis of information acquired and integrated over time, the information acquired early in the process is likely to carry more weight than that acquired later.” (Nickerson 13). What he’s writing essentially shows that what we believe and information that sways us in the beginning will carry more weight than anything else learned later on. This is scary for a few reasons. Say someone is diagnosed with high-functioning anxiety and depression from a very early age on due to trauma, and is used to the suicidal thoughts and self-sabotage they’ve experience for years. It would make getting out of those habits a lot harder than one might think. Of course nothing is impossible in the hands and will of God, but Nickerson’s evidence changes things for sure.

Raymond S. Nickerson continues by explaining the difference of coming into contact with information as one should versus someone coming at it with a confirmation bias.

"There is an obvious difference between impartially evaluating evidence...and building a case to justify a conclusion already drawn. In the first instance one seeks evidence on all sides of a question, evaluates it as objectively as one can, and draws the conclusion that the evidence, in the aggregate, seems to dictate. In the second, one selectively gathers, or gives undue weight to, evidence that supports one's position while neglecting to gather, or discounting, evidence that would tell against it." (147)

What Nickerson writes is that there are two ways to come at new information, and while humans are prone to always come with a belief or previous notion, it does one well to try and shift to a more open mindset.

So how does this relate back to the truth and to lies? If we start with a predisposition or belief, our brains will naturally look for the evidence to support it. If one begins to think that they are bad at math, their brain will automatically look to past events in math class for confirmation of that thought. Confirmation bias happens all the time, without us even realizing it. We can be aware of our confirmation bias tendencies that make us human, and recognize when we are experiencing that in a negative way. This could be when we are gossiping or thinking negatively about someone. Our brains will look for information or search through what we know to back up that one statement that other friend just said. Or it could look like going down a negative self spiral and thinking untrue things about oneself. Our brains will latch onto all of those lies and automatically look back on past memories and experiences to confirm it. In those moments of giving into unkind gossip, or untrue judgments: we just have to remember that this is what our brains do. What matters most is what we do in those moments after. We can choose to continue the confirmation bias, keep gossiping with that friend, or continue to give into self pity. Or we can begin again, and try to go into the next conversation, mental headspace with a clean slate, living in those moments and being present, not stuck in the past looking to confirm the lies we hear around us.

Craig Groeshel, author of Winning the War in Your Mind, writes that “...A lie believed as truth will affect your life as if it were true” (13). This is why the truth is so important in a society like today’s. It’s a workout to figure out what is true and what’s not. In a world where catfishing, disinformation, and fake news are the regular, it takes a lot of effort to dig through it all to reach the actual truth. So sometimes it’s not as easy as the statement, ‘don’t believe the lies of this world!’ The lies of this world can easily intertwine with the truth too. Amy Morin writes that, “Once you draw a conclusion about yourself, you’re likely to do two things; look for evidence that reinforces your belief and discount anything that runs contrary to your belief” (“This is how your thoughts become your reality). This proves to be true, thanks to confirmation bias. Our brains look for evidence that supports what we believe. So therefore we have to be careful about what we believe, or the thoughts we think, and how our brains confirm it.

It can be really easy to read all about how our thoughts feel like they control our lives. How they end up having much more of an impact than we really think they do. In a world with sin, it’s easy to gain a cynical outlook and hard heart, even for the Christian. So what do we do when we feel this hopelessness? Because the reality is that most of the world lives in a state of hopelessness. Furthermore, why does it even matter at the end of the day? Why not just give in to the gloomy state the rest of the world encourages and claims is normal? As children of God, we know differently and that’s why we act differently. God is often referred to as a living hope, our living hope. This can be found in multiple places in the Bible. In 1st Peter 1:3, it says this: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” The English Standard Version tells the readers that through accepting Jesus as our Savior, we are born again. But furthermore, we are born again to a living hope. This can be seen in two ways. The living hope refers to both God, and a way of life. Living like we have hope because we actually do.

So we know hope is a big deal. It’s what allows us to have the strength to get up each day and go again. Jennie Allen writes on hope and its necessity for life. She explains that, “Doubt steals hope. And with no hope, everything that matters doesn’t feel as important anymore” (23). Doubt is normal, and in some cases a healthy amount of doubt can be good. We can’t go into the world believing everything we hear and see, we have to work a little to find the truth. To do that, we do indeed need some healthy doubt. But overwhelming and all-consuming doubt steals our hopes, which will steal the joy that makes life worth living. When we step back and take a look at how messy and hurtful the world is, it suddenly seems so difficult to not even thrive, but simply survive without God. God has given his followers and believers many things. He has given us eternal life because he allowed for his son to pay the price. He has given us overflowing and true love, that no other human being will be able to fill. But God has also given Christians the very much needed gift and promise of hope. And with that hope, he has given us a clean slate. That clean slate holds no record of past sins, no matter the size. That slate holds no memory of past doubts or personal struggles in the mind. It’s just that: a clean slate. Angela Duckworth, the author of the book Grit, writes about hope and its relation to grit. She first describes grit as, “...Sticking with things over the very long term until you master them” (Duckworth). The key to grit is hope, because why else would one invest so much time into a personal journey with health, or their faith, if they didn’t hope for some better outcome than the one they’re currently living?

This is why the human race needs God. We need to believe in something that is bigger than ourselves. We have to have hope in something other than ourselves because if we don’t, we’d live constantly saddened by how sin has destroyed humankind. In chapter three of Get Out Of Your Head, by Jennie Allen, she goes on to explain how hope and the power of thought are intertwined. She essentially says that by having hope in Jesus, and choosing to focus on that hope from him, it will help to dissolve the toxic thoughts and lies we believe (Allen). Thanks to the Bible, we can read and put true evidence into our hearts about the God who can heal all wounds, physical and mental. We can learn about the love that surpasses all understanding, like Paul portrays in Ephesians 3:19. He writes, “And to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” The book of Jeremiah leans further into hope and our futures in Christ.

Jeremiah writes, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” The NIV version of Jeremiah 29:11 writes what every person who has ever lived desires to hear. We all want to be taken care of, provided for, and looked after. The Lord does this in the form of giving us plans that will prosper us and give hope. The confusing part is that these very plans that will prosper and grow us can be plans that emit tears of grief or anger. The hard part of being a Christian is that the Lord does not promise ease or joy to his followers. What he does promise is himself and his attributes. His light that can shine inside his followers to others around them. The hope that radiates out of people who believe in something bigger than just themselves. However much pain and hardship we feel in the world, whether it comes through the physical pain of sickness or the mental pain of fighting a war of the mind, hope is essential to it all. Of course there are different ways we can find hope. Some people look to the future with uncertain plans and dreams. Others look to the security of their jobs and their biweekly salaries. And while there isn’t anything necessarily ‘wrong’ with finding joy or pride in hard work and dreams, they stand to be fillers. True hope has a name, and in him we will find strength to continue to live on, to fight the battles in our heads, as well as the ones we live through during our time on Earth.

And so you regain consciousness and refocus your eyes to the new person presenting their hard work in front of you. You feel your heart rate begin to slow, the blood drains back out of the face, and can stop bouncing your knee in nervous fashion. The worst is over, you think to yourself with a sigh of relief. But you know what comes after each time. The judgments come in quick and sharp stabs in your mind. “Why did I say that, am I insane??” or “You know you could have done a better job than the train wreck you just let happen.” All of those belittling lies covered as constructive criticism make their way to the front of your mind. They’re strong enough to make you zone right back out again, hearing the next student present, but not listening. However this time you think, “Yea, maybe it wasn’t my best presentation or the most perfect slideshow ever, but I did what I could, and that was my best.” Your mind begins to flood back with more thoughts - positive and true ones this time. You think back on that one thing your youth group leader said that blessed you, and that one encouragement your mom gave to you on your hard work you did this week. And as those kinds of moments and memories fill your mind, you remember that your mind doesn’t control you. You control it. You begin to feel a small smile rest on your face as you remind yourself that even though these thoughts and moments are hard, I have a God who loves me and will help me through them all, and that’s definitely something worth smiling about.

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